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No way, says UP IAS Assn
THIS MIGHT well be the end of Indian Administrative Service. If non-IAS cadre officers were to be appointed as district magistrates then why only officers from Provincial Civil Service, let presidents of the ruling party be posted as district magistrates, said angry IAS officers on Monday.
THIS MIGHT well be the end of Indian Administrative Service. If non-IAS cadre officers were to be appointed as district magistrates then why only officers from Provincial Civil Service, let presidents of the ruling party be posted as district magistrates, said angry IAS officers on Monday.
The occasion was the emergency meeting of the executive committee of the Uttar Pradesh IAS Association held at the Civil Service Institute. Officers were obviously agitated over the State Government’s move to post PCS officers as district magistrates.
They went to chief secretary R Ramni urging him to prevail upon Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and get the move reversed.
This is for the first time in recent years that all members of the executive committee decided to meet the chief secretary.
Association president Shambhu Nath also accompanied them. The association members decided to meet Yadav to remind him of his assurance that the UP IAS Association would be taken into confidence before any decision was taken on the issue.
The association has also decided to approach the Centre directly and demand intervention if the State Government goes ahead and begins implementing the CM’s announcement. The association will also approach the EC to draw attention towards Yadav’s observations on the crucial role that, he said, PCS officers played in the Vidhan Sabha elections.
Association secretary Sanjay Bhus Reddy said all the 70 posts of district magistrates belonged to the IAS cadre. He said officers of any other service could not be posted on cadre posts in accordance with provisions of the All India Service Rules. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had made observations against giving IAS cadre posts to PCS, he said adding the Centre had also asked the state governments to revert back the cadre posts to IAS if any PCS officers had been posted on them. The IAS had been created after a debate in the constituent assembly to uphold the federal structure, he said adding that the demand may not end with giving posts of IAS to PCS. Officers of PPS and the PFS may also start demanding posts so far given only to IPS and IFS officers, he said. The officer pointed out that the decision would lead to many anomalies. If State Government went ahead with implementing the decision, the PCS officers (who do not opt for IAS) would become a deprived lot. While PCS officers of same seniority would get secretary’s scale, those who opt for IAS would remain special secretary while being posted as DM, said a senior IAS officer.
